Kimchee-Pork Pancakes

The Korean cuisine has many varieties of pancakes and these savory Kimchee-Pork Pancakes are a delicious example. We made these kimchee-pork pancakes with ground pork, fresh chives, bean sprouts and kimchee. The ingredients are mixed into a mush of rehydrated dried peeled mung beans.

Kimchee-Pork Pancakes

Pancakes are a big deal in Korea. They include any fish, meat and/or vegetables mixed with a base of flour and eggs. Some pancakes are small appetizer-size, while others are huge, pan-sized cakes cut into wedges.

But, these Kimchee-Pork Pancakes are delicious anytime. Yes, even breakfast! Or as a meal, side dish or a snack. We formed the batter into small two-inch round pancakes and served them as appetizers with a spicy chili dipping sauce.

Our Kimchee-Pork Pancakes Include Mung Beans:

If you are unfamiliar with the peeled mung beans they look like small yellow split peas and you will most likely need to visit an Asian market to buy them.

Mung beans are inexpensive and to cook them they need to soak for at least an hour to rehydrate. They will double in volume after a good soak.

To use them in this kimchee-pork pancake recipe we rinsed them after they softened and pureed them in the blender to a thick mush.

Appetizer-size Kimchee-Pork Pancakes

What is Kimchee?

Kimchee is a pungent traditional condiment in the Korean cuisine. Kimchee is a staple condiment made from salted and fermented vegetables. It consists mainly of napa cabbage, Korean radishes and a variety of seasonings including chili powder, scallions, garlic, ginger. Kimchee is on the table of every Korean household at every meal.

Where Do I Buy Kimchee?

You should be able to find kimchee in your regular grocery store but it is definitely a product in the Asian markets. There is nothing like homemade kimchee though, and we like it with Pork Fried Rice. It is easy to make kimchee from scratch, you can get our recipe here, it will keep for months in the fridge.

It takes only a small bit of chopped kimchee to add the unique flavor to these pancakes and it compliments the garlic and chives.

Kimchee-Pork Pancakes with dipping sauce and kimchee

We also used a half-cup of blanched bean sprouts in our recipe which adds texture to the pancakes. Pork is another frequent ingredient in Korean cuisine and we included a four-ounce portion here. This flavorful mix is combined with the thick pureed mung beans along with an egg to give it structure.

We formed our appetizer pancakes by dropping a generous tablespoon mound of the batter into an oiled non-stick skillet, flattening it out with the back of the spoon to a two-inch cake.After a minute or two the bottom edge looked golden and crisp and the pancake was flipped to cook the other side.

You will need to cook these pancakes in batches of three or four at a time and are most delicious served warm. Transfer each cooked batch to a warm oven until they are all cooked.

Kimchee-Pork Pancakes

We served these kimchee-pork pancakes with a spicy chili dipping sauce made by combining soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, mirin and a small portion of hot chili oil. Oh, yes….don’t forget to add a small dish of chopped kimchee as a condiment.

More Asian Appetizers:

Kimchee-Pork Pancakes

Kimchee-Pork Pancakes are savory appetizers made from mung beans, pork, kimchee and chives. They are formed into small 2-inch cakes and served with a spicy chili dipping sauce and chopped kimchee.

Prep Time20 minutes

Active Time30 minutes

Total Time50 minutes

Ingredients

For the Pancakes:

1 cup peeled dried mung beans

1 cup water

4 ounces ground pork

l large egg

3/4 cup kimchee, squeezed of excess water and chopped

2-3 tablespoons snipped fresh chives or green onion tops

1/2 cup bean sprouts, blanched and chopped (optional)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Chopped kimchee for serving

For the Chili Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon chili oil

1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

Instructions

For the Pancakes:

Put the dried mung beans in a medium-size bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Drain through a fine mesh strainer and rinse throughly.

Preheat the oven to the ‘warm’ setting or the lowest setting possible.

Add the rinsed beans to a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer the puree to a large bowl and add the pork, egg, kimchee, chives, bean sprouts, garlic and sea salt, stirring well to mix. Be sure to break up the ground pork so that it will be well incorporated.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Cook the pancakes in batches by forming and cooking 3 or 4 pancakes at a time using a heaping tablespoon of the batter and flattening it out into a 2-inch pancake. Cook until nicely browned, about 2 minutes. When you see the edge around the bottom beginning to turn crisp and a golden brown, flip it over and cook the other side, about another minute.

Place the pancakes to paper towel-lined plate and transfer to the oven to keep warm while cooking the remaining pancakes.

For the Chili Dipping Sauce:

Add all the ingredients together in a small dish and whisk to combine.

Notes

Peeled dried mung beans resemble small yellow split peas and we have found them only in the Asian markets.

Mirin is a sweet rice wine, sold in most grocery stores and Asian markets

The green tops of scallions may be substituted for chives

When cooking the pancakes, wipe the skillet with a paper towel after cooking several batches, adding a teaspoon or so more oil.

The chili oil can be found in most grocery stores, adjust according to taste. It has a good kick to it.

This recipe has been adapted from Chef Rachel Yang of the Joule restaurant in Seattle, WA

These look delicious. I lived in Korea for a year and our maid/cook used to make a thin batter to which she added chopped kim-chee and green onions, made a thin pancake, and served them with a dipping sauce of soy sauce and sesame seed. They were wonderful (as was everything she prepared!)

Korea was one of our favorite places (my husband was a career Army man) and we still look back on it fondly.

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